Posts Tagged ‘Chelsea FC’
What’s happening ….
Monday, July 13th, 2009
We racked the Chelsea Best today (see earlier post for details), firkins are filled and the rest of the brew will condition for a week before being carbonated. I’ve got to say I can’t wait to have my first pint of this one, quickly followed by my second pint of course, after all it is a session beer! Check out the logo for the tap handle, pretty cool, eh?
We’re going to raffle off the 2 tap handles at the post game celebration at the Pratt Street Ale House. Come along, buy a pint of Chelsea Best and you could walk away with one of the most unique souvenirs of this incredible event!
On the Brewer’s Choice handpull now is 3 Lions Ale, a 7.5% strong brown ale. If you’ve tried the regular 3 Lions tap you’ve got to try the cask version. You’ll be amazed by the malt flavors that come to the forefront of this complex beer when served on cask. Writing this is making me thirsty, I’d better go up to the bar and get one …. ah, that’s better, delicious! Keep an eye on the brewery news posts for details of a 3 Lions brewery celebration at the Ale House sometime in late July/early August. We’ll have a Kilderkin of Oak Aged 3 Lions on the beer engine (yep, you read it correctly … a kilderkin… 21.6 gallons, oh yeah) and a few special things going on! More details soon.
Don’t forget, enter the Friday competition …. you never know what you could win!
Cheers
Steve
What’s happening ….
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Today I brewed an old favorite of mine, a 4.3% abv Best Bitter which is to go on tap as “Chelsea Best” to celebrate the forthcoming soccer match beween London’s Chelsea FC and AC Milan at the M & T Bank Stadium on July 24th. The Pratt Street Ale House will be the official headquarters of the Chelsea In America Supporters Club (see the events section of the site for more details) so it seems only proper that we honor them with a truly unique British brew. This bitter is deep amber in color, medium bodied with a bold, but balanced, hop presence. It is brewed using English Halcyon Pale Ale, Crystal and Chocolate malts along with malted wheat and is hopped with Kent Goldings and English Fuggles. This was a regular brew when I worked for the Firkin Brewery in England but I have brewed it just once in the U.S., to celebrate my 14th anniversary as a brewer in 2008. On that occasion I was myself honored by this beer being recognized as The Best Of Baltimore by The City Paper. “Chelsea Best” will, of course, be available as both a cask-conditioned and carbonated ale.
Speaking of unique beers, I conducted a taste test of the “Hot Monkey Love” winter seasonal today. The HML was brewed back in April and has been conditioning since then and will remain in conditioning until early October. The transformation since I first sampled it just a week after entering conditioning is remarkable. The harshness of the high alcohol (approximately 10%) has given way to a more mellow warmth with some sherry type undertones and a lingering sweetness. This beer is well worth the wait! Of particular interest this year is the fact that I’ve aged some firkins with American Oak (and some without the Oak). These will have been sitting in a quiet corner of our cask room for some 6 months before their debut tapping at the Chesapeake Real Ale Festival in October. It’ll be interesting to see how the vanilla and coconut flavors that the oak impart combine with the complexity of the beer.
Don’t forget, Tuesday night is Cask Night at The Pratt Street Ale House, with pints of all three of our cask-conditioned ales being only $3 after 5pm.
Cheers
Steve